With every passing, lingering second, it seems less and less likely. Eventually, he tightens his jaw and stands, gently placing my hand on the side of the mattress as he does.
I miss him, even though he’s right in front of me.
“We should probably get out of here,” he says, looking at the curtain and the door beyond it. “Dad’s been texting me updates,” he says, scratching his chin, looking wayward. “We’ll be eating like kings for the next few days. He’s bought half the market.”
Bo grabs my jacket and bag from the hook on the wall and places them next to me, not looking at me but around me. “I think he might be wandering around downtown with live lobster in his bag…”
I nod, laughing faintly as I hop down and stand at the edge of the bed, holding on to it tightly for balance as my head spins.
“You okay?” he asks, his hand on my forearm to steady me.
I nod, moving away from his hold to put on my jacket. I pull my hair out of the back of it when it gets caught and look around cluelessly for my bag before realising Bo’s holding it out to me. I force a smile, taking it as he looks at me with growing concern.
“I’m fine. It’s just… I feel…” I laugh, rubbing my face. “I don’t know. I think I’m just hungry, maybe,” I lie. Well, it’s not a lie. I am hungry. That’s always true these days.
He nods, running his teeth across his bottom lip. “Okay. We’ll grab something on our way home.”
Shit.
“Oh, actually…”
I had completely forgotten to tell him that I needed to be dropped off at Sarah’s after our appointment. She’s taking me to the store to grab everything for Bo’s party tomorrow, and then we’re going back to hers to bake a cake. “I have plans with Sarah this afternoon. Do you think you could drop me off there? After we grab your dad and his new pet lobsters?”
“Oh, uh, sure.” Bo’s face falls, his lips curling inward.
It pulls like a weight in my stomach, watching his frown twitch as his eyes look at the floor between us.
But some space might do us both good. I know I could use a bath and a long chat with Sarah, at least. “Also…” I say, swallowing. “I might sleep over there tonight.”
Bo opens his mouth and shuts it just as quickly. He swallows tightly as his eyebrows press together. “So I’ll see you tomorrow? For my, uh—” He hesitates, looking up at the ceiling as if he can’t believe he has to say this next part out loud. “For my birthday?”
The point of a surprise party is, of course, to make it a surprise. But it takes everything in me not to ruin it when I see the flat expression he’s forcing to replace his obvious disappointment.
“I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but your dad has a plan for you both tomorrow.” The one I asked him to make. “I’ll be home when you get back.” And so will six other people.
“Promise?” he asks, far too quickly for it to have been intentional.
My brows knit together as I nod. “Yeah, of course…”
“Okay,” he says, smiling weakly, his eyes still on the floor. “Sounds good,” he says, tilting his head upward and looking over his shoulder to the door. “Ready?”
“Yeah,” I agree, my voice far more defeated than I’d like it to be.
CHAPTER 29
“Caleb, I swear to god if you eat another pinwheel before Bo gets here, I’ll give you and Win matching fingers,” Sarah says, setting a pitcher of lemonade on the table.
Caleb shoves his hand into his pocket and slowly backs away from the table of food.
“They’re two minutes away,” I announce to the room of guests, putting my phone on the counter next to the cake that Sarah and I decorated to look like a Hobbit door, complete with a large 30 in the centre.
Bo has been out with his dad since this morning. I know they started by getting lunch and ended at a brewery, but I’m not sure where they’ve gone in between. The only hint I have is the photo Bo sent of himself in a barber’s chair, covered in white towels and with a caption that read: I’m the mummy now.
I looked at the photo for way too long, even amongst the chaos that was throwing this party together.
I love that dork.
And I’m going to tell him. Tonight.
Sarah and I talked about everything last night, and one thing became clear. I physically cannot handle living here with him another second without telling him. I just have to leap blindly and hope he feels the same.
And even if Bo’s not fully moved on from his past relationship, I think he’d be willing to try starting something new. There were so many instances yesterday where I just knew he could feel the same way about me as I do about him. The waiting room, his disappointment when I asked him to take me to Sarah’s, the look in his eye when he said I was perfect.
I think I could be content, even if Bo’s heart is in two places. Honestly, at this point, I think I’d happily settle for half of his affections. I have a feeling Bo would love me better at half capacity than anyone else ever could.
Kevin and Jeremiah burst through the door, apologising for being late as they become a flurry of scarves and jackets being removed. “We saw them pull onto the street, but they didn’t spot us. We parked around the corner like instructed,” Kevin says, handing a plate of food to Jeremiah as he dramatically rips off his shoes, tosses them into the closet, and barrels toward me.
“Where do you want these?” Jer asks as his husband wraps me up in a hug.
“Just on the table please,” I squeak from the inside of Kevin’s tight hug.
“How ya doing?” Kevin asks, releasing me.
“Fine!”
He studies me with a knowing smile. “You seem nervous.”
“I want Bo to love his party…”
“The party… sure,” Kevin says, patting my shoulder. “Sarah!” he shouts, walking over to her. “I made the bacon-wrapped scallops I was telling you about…” I lose focus of their conversation behind me when Walter raises his hand, pointing outside the window.
“They’re here,” he says, dropping the curtain. Adamir shuts off the lights as I pause the music, and everyone else crouches behind furniture or walls.
I move to the centre of the archway, between the dining and living room, and wait, my heartbeat thumping in my ears.
Bo’s dad opens the front door and quickly jogs inside, hiding on the other side of the archway, tucked inside the living room. He smiles widely at me with anticipatory excitement across his features.
I wink at him, my giddy smile growing by the second.
“Dad?” Bo calls out from the front steps. He’s nearly laughing but mostly confused as he steps into the front hall.
Then he sees me, wearing my dorky cone-shaped party hat and my purple linen dress, and his shoulders fall with a contented smile.
The seconds pass like minutes as we stare at each other from across the room.
But chaos explodes all around us soon enough, once Sarah restarts the music and everyone shouts “Surprise!” as they pop out from their hiding places.
Bo jumps backward, nearly falling on his ass. He clutches his chest, laughing as he regains his balance with one hand on the wall. “Oh my god,” he says, breathing heavily, half bent over. “Hi, everyone…” he says, straightening, his eyes on me.